Sara Cox facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sara Cox
Cox at Manchester Fashion Week, October 2007
Born	Sara Joanne Cox (1974-12-13) 13 December 1974 (age 50) Bolton, Greater Manchester, England
Other names	Sara Cox
Occupation	Television presenter, radio presenter, author
Years active	1996–present
Spouse(s)	Jon Carter ​ ​ (m. 2001; div. 2005)​ Ben Cyzer ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	3

Sara Joanne Cyzer (born 13 December 1974), known as Sara Cox, is an English radio and television presenter, and an author. She works for BBC Radio 2, where she has hosted the drivetime show since January 2019. Before that, she presented the breakfast show on BBC Radio 1 from April 2000 to December 2003.

Sara has also presented many TV shows for the BBC. These include The Great Pottery Throw Down (2015–2017), Too Much TV (2016), and Back in Time for... (2018–2020).

Early Life and First Jobs

Sara Joanne Cox was born on 13 December 1974. She grew up on her father's farm in Little Lever, a village near Bolton, England. She was the youngest of five children. When she was about six or seven, her parents separated, and she moved with her mother and a sister to another house in the same village.

Sara went to Smithills High School until she was 16. After studying for her A-levels at Canon Slade School, she decided to become a model. She appeared in a music video for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's song "Everyday" in 1993. She also appeared on a poster for the video game Wipeout in 1995.

In 1996, Sara got her first TV job presenting The Girlie Show on Channel 4. She also worked on other shows like Exclusive on Channel 5 and Born Sloppy on Channel 4. In 1997, she hosted MTV Hot for MTV in the UK. In 1998, Sara also had a small role in a film called The Bitterest Pill.

In September 1998, Sara became a presenter on The Big Breakfast. She interviewed many famous people, including Robbie Williams, Sting, and Leonardo DiCaprio.

BBC Radio 1 Career

Starting Out: 1999–2002

Sara started her radio career on 19 September 1999, joining BBC Radio 1. She launched a popular show called The Surgery with Mark Hamilton. She also co-hosted a Saturday lunchtime show.

In December 1999, it was announced that Sara would take over the Radio 1 Breakfast show. Her first breakfast show was on 3 April 2000. At first, her show was very popular, with listener numbers growing from 6.9 million to 7.8 million in her first 15 months. This was the largest breakfast audience Radio 1 had ever had. However, by August 2002, the numbers had dropped below 7 million.

Changes and New Shows: 2003–2014

In January 2003, Sara signed a new contract with the BBC. However, in October 2003, the BBC announced that Chris Moyles would replace her on the breakfast show. Sara hosted her last breakfast show on 19 December 2003.

After that, Sara presented the afternoon "drivetime" show for six months. She then went on maternity leave in June 2004 to have her first child. When she returned in early 2005, Scott Mills had taken over the drivetime slot permanently.

From February 2005, Sara hosted the afternoon show on Saturdays and Sundays. She took maternity leave again in February 2008 for her second child, returning in September 2008. She then presented a Sunday mid-morning show. In March 2010, Sara went on maternity leave for the third time. She returned to cover for other presenters later that year.

In August 2012, it was announced that Sara and other presenters would cover Fearne Cotton's show on BBC Radio 1 while Fearne was on maternity leave. Sara's final show for Radio 1 was on 17 February 2014.

BBC Radio 2 Career

In June 2011, Sara began hosting the comedy show Hot Gossip on BBC Radio 2. In 2012, she covered for many other presenters on the station, including Ken Bruce and Vanessa Feltz. Between 2012 and 2018, she was also the main stand-in presenter for The Radio 2 Breakfast Show, covering for Chris Evans.

Sara joined BBC Radio 2 for her own regular show on Saturday nights from October 2013. This show, called Sounds of the 80s, played music from the 1980s. The show moved to Friday nights in April 2016.

From May to December 2018, Sara hosted a new late-night show on Radio 2 from Monday to Thursday. Gary Davies took over Sounds of the 80s.

On 29 October 2018, it was announced that Sara would take over the drivetime show from Simon Mayo. She started this new role on 14 January 2019. In July 2022, it was announced that her drivetime show would become an hour longer, running from 4 PM to 7 PM.

Television Work

Sara Cox has presented many television shows throughout her career. In July 2007, she presented London Live on Channel 4. She also appeared as a guest on the Sky1 show Angela and Friends in 2009 and 2010. In 2010, she was a team captain on What Do Kids Know? on the Watch channel.

She was a commentator for the semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest on BBC Three in 2011 and 2012 with Scott Mills. She also stepped in to commentate in 2021.

In October 2014, Sara guest-presented a Children in Need episode of The Great British Sewing Bee. In April 2015, she began presenting The Great Pottery Throw Down for BBC Two. She also co-presented Too Much TV in 2016.

In 2017, Sara appeared on Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit. On 4 June 2017, she co-presented the One Love Manchester benefit concert.

Since 2018, Sara has co-presented Back in Time for..., a show where a modern family experiences meals from different historical periods. She also presents Love in the Countryside for BBC Two.

In March 2019, Sara began hosting a new ITV show called The Sara Cox Show, which featured entertainment, live music, and celebrity guests. In October 2020, she launched and presented Between the Covers on BBC Two, a book programme that has continued for several series.

Books by Sara Cox

In March 2019, Sara published her book Till the Cows Come Home: A Lancashire Childhood. This book is a memoir about her childhood growing up in Lancashire in the 1980s.

Her first novel, Thrown, was published in May 2022. Her second novel, Way Back, was published in March 2024.

Personal Life

Family Life

Sara Cox married DJ Jon Carter in October 2001. Their daughter was born on 13 June 2004. They announced their divorce in December 2005.

On 16 September 2007, Sara announced she was expecting her second child. Her son was born on 10 March 2008. She had her third child, a girl, on 12 March 2010.

On 23 June 2013, Sara announced on Twitter that she had married her long-term boyfriend, Ben Cyzer.

Protecting Privacy

In June 2003, Sara and her ex-husband Jon received money in a settlement from the newspaper The People. This happened after the newspaper printed private photos of her taken without permission during her honeymoon in 2001. Sara complained to the Press Complaints Commission, which agreed with her. She then sued the newspaper for breaking her right to privacy. The newspaper agreed to a settlement before the case went to court.

Stalking Incident

In July 2017, a man named Anthony Collins was found guilty of stalking Sara Cox. He had sent her and her husband Ben a series of letters to their home address. He pleaded guilty to harassment and was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Charitable Work

Sara Cox has supported many charities. She helped promote a children's storybook called Once Upon a Time to raise money for the NSPCC. She also supports the animal charity PDSA.

In July 2011, Sara took part in a women's horse race called The Magnolia Cup to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital. She is also a long-time supporter of Centrepoint, a charity for homeless young people in the UK. She takes part in their annual "Sleep Out" event, where people sleep outside to raise money.

In 2006, Sara participated in the BBC's Sport Relief event Only Fools on Horses, where celebrities competed in showjumping. From 20 to 21 March 2017, Sara did a 24-hour danceathon on BBC Radio 2 to raise money for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day. She raised over £800,000 for the charity.

Awards and Recognition

In November 2006, Sara Cox was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Bolton. This award recognized her contributions to broadcasting.

Filmography